Tag Archives: 10th Amendment

The basic idea of the Founding Fathers was to get government as close to the people as possible. In other words, a small federal government, with strong local and state governments. Thomas Jefferson said, â€œWhen all government shall be drawn to Washington as the center of all power, it willâ€¦ become as oppressive as the government from which we separated [ourselves, the government of England].â€

Do you think that a bloated federal bureaucracy might be at the root of the problems we are facing today in our American Republic? Our nationâ€™s Founders never dreamed that the federal government would become the octopus that it is, with its tentacles reaching into every facet of our lives. Is there a solution? Yes, and itâ€™s already happening now!

On Tuesday, 022409, Michigan State Representative Paul Opsommer was talking State Sovereignty and the 10th Amendment when he appeared as a guest on WTCM Radio in Traverse City, Michigan.Â Click the link below to hear the interview, approximately 15 minutes.

On 02/24/09, Kentucky State Representative, John Will Stacy (D) intrduced House Concurrent Resolution 168, which reads:

“A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION claiming sovereignty over powers not granted to the federal government by the United States Constitution; serving notice to the federal government to cease mandates beyond its authority; and stating Kentucky’s position that federal legislation that requires states to comply under threat of loss of federal funding should be prohibited or repealed.”

For those history buffs out there, Kentucky was at the forefront in asserting the principles of State Sovereignty in the early days of the Republic.Â Â The Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 took what some consider to be the strongest position on this issue in our history.

“Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.”

We might think those wordsâ€”or words to the same effectâ€”are in the U.S. Constitution. But they are not. They are from Article II of the Articles of Confederation, Americaâ€™s first constitution. They could have been placed in the U.S. Constitution but were deliberately left out in 1787.

“A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION urging the honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States, in Congress assembled, and the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives of each State’s legislature of the United States of America to cease and desist, effective immediately, any and all mandates that are beyond the scope of their constitutionally delegated power.”

The purpose of the 10th Amendment is to define the establishment and division of power between the Federal government and state governments. This amendment also protects these powers from both entities. This amendment was used to define the federal taxing power, federal police power, and federal regulations.

At one time, it was read very simply, if it is not in the constitution, the federal government could not pass it to the states. Through the years, the power of the federal government has expanded through the Supreme Court.

State sovereignty is a big deal to state legislators; hopefully, it is to you as well. It is what keeps the federal government from over stepping its constitutional bounds.

Today many state legislators, including some in Tennessee, have decided it is time to affirm state sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and demand the federal government halt its practice of assuming powers and of imposing mandates upon the states for purposes not enumerated by the Constitution.

The history of the formation of our federal government is long and complex but what the framers sought was a government that protected manâ€™s natural rights; declared by the Declaration of Independence to be the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; better interpreted to mean that all men, by nature are equally free and independent with the right to work, acquire property and pursue their own individual happiness.

HCR1011, a resolution affirming the sovereignty of the state of Arkansas under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was filed this afternoon by Rep. Debra Hobbs (R-Rogers). The resolution goes on to say that this is to serve as â€œNotice and Demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.â€

Legislators in Tennessee submitted House Joint Resolution 108 (HJR0108) on February 18th.Â While it’sÂ non-binding, some of the language is quite well put.Â Here’s the intro:

A RESOLUTION to affirm Tennessee’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and to demand the federal government halt its practice of assuming powers and of imposing mandates upon the states for purposes not enumerated by the Constitution of the United States.

Halting the practice of assuming powers not enumerated is a great step.Â Rolling back all the previous unconstitutional legislation is also a must in the future.

This morning, legislators from the state of Minnesota introduced HF No. 997, with the following description:

“Federal government memorialized to halt its practice of imposing mandates upon the states for purposes not enumerated by the Constitution of the United States and affirming Minnesota’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. “

There are 16 co-authors to the bill, and you can find more details here.

In last Saturday’s A-letter, we talked about how several states recently introduced resolutions meant to re-affirm the rights guaranteed to state governments in the Ninth and Tenth Amendment to the Constitution.

Well we were overwhelmed with feedback to that post, so today we’re going to give you what you’re looking for and share all the details on this’under-the-radar’ states’ rights movement…